Information for applicants

What is meant by disability?

While we understand that not everyone who might need to use our disability support services thinks of themselves as disabled, we need to use the single term 'disability' to cover a broad range of physical and sensory impairments, medical conditions, specific learning difficulties and mental health needs.

The definition of disability found in legislation says that a disability is any condition which has a significant, adverse and long-term effect on the person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Therefore, 'disability' can include students who have:

• A sensory (visual/hearing) impairment
• A mental health difficulty
• A mobility impairment
• A dexterity impairment
• Asperger's Syndrome or other autism spectrum disorders
• Chronic medical conditions (eg diabetes, epilepsy, asthma)
• Chronic pain/chronic fatigue
• Specific learning difficulties (eg dyslexia, dyspraxia)
• Any other condition which has a long-term and adverse effect on study

What support is offered?

The Disability Support Office (DSO) supports students who have any of the disabilities listed above. You do not have to be registered disabled to access our services, although we will need to ask you to provide medical or other evidence.

If you think you may have a specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, you can also access the Disabilty Support Office's services by going through the dyslexia screening process.

We aim to treat every person as an individual and consider each person's needs on that basis.

Why disclose a disability?

Although the University is working hard to make its services as accessible as possible, if you disclose your disability to the University, we are able to organise a wide range of practical individual support (eg alternative exam arrangements, copies of lecture notes, alternative formats). We can also assist you to access external resources like the Disabled Students Allowance. Disclosing your disability will enable us to inform you about the options available to you, though you may choose not to follow them up.

If you choose not to disclose your disability to us, this may have implications for the provision available to you. Although it is ideal to disclose it to us as soon as possible so that we can organise any support for your whole course, you are free to do so at any point while studying at the University.

You can choose to what extent you want details of your disability to be disclosed or kept confidential.

How to disclose a disability

Ideally, we would ask you to disclose your disability to us by one of the following routes:

• Completing the appropriate box on your application form;
• Contacting the DSO to arrange a prospective visit;
• Completing the appropriate box on your registration form at the start of your course;
• Contacting the DSO directly at any point before or during your studies;
• Telling your School .

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